A Young Scientist’s Research Journey in Genomics and Biosafety
2026-06-16 15:55:00 / News
Today, ensuring food security, monitoring the quality of agricultural products, and making effective use of modern achievements in genetic engineering are among the key priorities at the global level. In particular, the control of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the enhancement of biosafety requirements, and the introduction of innovative molecular genetic technologies into practice are among the most important challenges facing modern science. One of the young scientists conducting research in these promising fields is Farxod Radjapov, Senior Research Fellow at the Center of Genomics and Bioinformatics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, who is the next guest of our #Scientific_Internship project.
Recently, the young scientist successfully completed a four-week international scientific internship entitled “Detection of GMOs in Agricultural Raw Materials and Food Products” at the Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology of Kazan Federal University in the Republic of Tatarstan and returned to Uzbekistan. This internship not only elevated his scientific potential to a new level but also provided an opportunity to study international experience in the fields of biosafety and genomics and to develop promising avenues of scientific cooperation.
The focus of Farxod Radjapov’s research lies in modern molecular biology and genetic engineering technologies. In particular, he is conducting in-depth studies of contemporary methods for detecting genetically modified organisms in agricultural and food products, genome analysis techniques, and the capabilities of bioinformatics approaches.
Today, molecular genetic technologies are becoming one of the most important tools for ensuring GMO control and biosafety. These technologies make it possible to identify genetic modifications in products, analyze the genetic composition of biological samples, and effectively organize safety monitoring systems.
Laboratory analyses that were once complex and time-consuming can now be performed much more rapidly and accurately through modern technologies. As a result, agricultural and food industry enterprises are able to monitor product quality, comply with biosafety requirements, and operate in accordance with international standards.
“During the internship, modern methods for the extraction and analysis of nucleic acids, various modifications of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technologies, and real-time PCR-based methods for GMO detection were studied in detail. Practical skills were also developed in recombinant DNA technologies and innovative genome-editing tools, including the CRISPR/Cas9 system. In addition, methods for analyzing nucleotide sequences and processing genomic data using bioinformatics databases were mastered. This knowledge is of significant importance for improving biosafety control systems and advancing modern genetic research,” the young scientist noted.
International scientific cooperation also occupies a special place in Farxod Radjapov’s scientific vision. During meetings with the leadership of Kazan Federal University, discussions focused on the development of genomic research based on Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies, the implementation of joint scientific projects, and the exchange of expertise. According to the young researcher, scientific progress can be accelerated significantly through international collaboration and knowledge exchange.
The experience gained in Kazan, the modern laboratory methods acquired, and the scientific cooperation agreements reached are expected to contribute substantially to the improvement of Uzbekistan’s biosafety system, the strengthening of GMO control mechanisms, and the achievement of new scientific advances in genomics and bioinformatics. This, in turn, will make a valuable contribution to the innovative development of the country’s agricultural sector and scientific community.